In the drive system of a train, there is no clear relationship between the available data in the controller of the drive converter and the connected machine components. In particular, a configuration documented at the time of delivery is lost when machine components are replaced in a fleet, e.g., as part of corrective or preventive maintenance.
The configuration of vehicles may not be preserved by the operator/service department at machine component level and is therefore mostly unknown or incorrect.
The converter controller measures and determines much relevant operating data of the connected machine components and may also intelligently correlate, evaluate, store, and collectivize them, etc.
The transmission of operating data to a central database (e.g., cloud) for central evaluation there is often described (Industry 4.0. . . ). However, this requires seamless high-bandwidth connectivity from the field component to the cloud. All parties involved must agree on uniform interfaces, data ownership, etc. These requirements are not always met. In reality, the current situation is rather that the flow of information, (e.g., in the returns process), is based on barely informative handwritten notes attached to the machine component.
Although data (e.g., load spectra) is available in the higher-level controller (e.g., in the converter in respect of the connected motor, gearbox, for example), as there is no clear relationship (association) between converter and motor, only load data averaged over a fleet of vehicles and a comparatively long period of time may be evaluated. Therefore, only an average machine component loading may be determined. Also, no individual data is available for damage assessment. Configuration management, (e.g., which machine component is used in which vehicle and over which period of time), is conducted manually in production and/or maintenance, if required.